Dhruba Ghosh plays sarangi with a sweet and lyrical style, at once traditional, yet individual and innovative. Raga Yaman has a relaxed, soothing mood suitable for extensive rendering. Raga Hemant, a creation of Allauddin Khan, is evocative of the wistful, pensive mood of the Hemant (winter) season.

Rajeev Taranath is one of the most prominent exponents of the Maihar style of sarode playing, combining a sophisticated thoughtfulness in raga development with a lyrical presentation and a luminous tonal quality. Raga Ahir Bhairav is an early morning melody combining the devotional aspect of Bhairav with the warmth and longing of Ahiri folk tunes.

Irshad Khan is, today, the leading young performer on the surbahar (bass sitar and, after his father and Guru, the great Ustad Imrat Khan, the world´s most accomplished active player on the surbahar. Raga Jansanmohini is adopted from South India and in Irshad Khan´s interpretation creates a lively mood embued with the playful atmosphere of two lovers.

Nishat Khan, the irrepressible and virtuosic sitarist, is endowed with an obsessive musical creativity that pushes him to define new musical boundaries - as in this performance of raga Mian ki Malhar, the most august, intense and complex of the rainy season ragas, a creation of Tansen, the legendary musician at the court of Emperor Akbar.

Shujaat Khan and Tejendra Narayan Majumdar bring together, perhaps for the first time on a CD, artists of the Vilayatkhani Gharana and the Maihar Gharana. Shujaat and Tejendra, two of the finest young exponents of their respective gharanas and instruments, combine efforts to create an evocative performance of raga Charukeshi.

Debashish Bhattacharya´s imaginative renderings and innovative extensions of playing technique and instrument design reveal the kind of provocative re-thinking that has always been at the vanguard of Indian classical music. Raga Bhimpalasi is played in the afternoon, evoking a contemplative sense of peace and the majestic grandeur of creation.

Samir Chatterjee is one of India´s (and the U.S.A.´s) finest tabla players. Samir plays tabla in the style of the Farrukhabad Gharana and here plays an extended exploration of the classic sixteen-beat rhythm cycle, tintal, that offers a fascinating blend of traditional, contemporary and personal approaches and compositions.

Shujaat Khan presents six ragas with six different moods, three played in the khayal style, three in the thumri style. In Shujaat´s words, "...when I am playing the composition, which was originally composed for presenting poetry, I also sing. Just as I often do at concerts. I want the listener to enjoy the beauty of the poetry along with the melody."

Ustad Vilayat Khan is a maestro whose synonymy with the sitar is now a fact which the musical world naturally takes for granted. Here, Ustad Vilayat Khan offers his unique interpretation of the rare raga Bhankar, creating a modal spectacle, incorporating fleeting glances of many other related and unrelated ragas.

Rashid Khan presents raga Bageshri, a popular night raga with moods ranging from devotional serenity to exhuberant romanticism. The romantic raga Desh is presented in a bandish with a strong devotional theme and ends in a virtuosic tarana.

Bhai Gaitonde is respected for his technical prowess and intellectual approach to the tabla and is distinguished for his systematic treatment of compositions and thorough exploration of their potential for improvisation.

Ustad Vilayat Khan is one of the greatest sitar players of the century, noted for his trademark sitar sound and inimitable "vocal playing style". This recording of raga Shree by Ustad Vilayat Khan is an event of major importance, in the presentation of a definitive performance of a "major" raga by one of the visionary Indian classical artists of the century - mature, thought-provoking and played with the lyrical virtuosity that has made Vilayat Khan legendary.

Ramesh Mishra plays the bowed sarangi - its three main strings and forty sympathetic strings give it a rich and complex sound. Ramesh comes from a stylistic tradition associated with musicians of the ancient city of Benares and is now a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ramesh Mishra plays raga Jog which has a moody, bluesy kind of feel, followed by a bittersweet raga Mishra Shivaranjani and the bhajan "Vaishnava Jana To", a favorite of Gandhi.

Shujaat Khan is a brilliant sitar player,the seventh generation of father to son musicians in his family. Shujaat is noted for the individuality of his style, the sweetness of his tone and the emotional involvement and communication which he brings to his performances. Shujaat Khan performs raga Malkauns, a well-loved and "important" raga of the late night, in an enchanting rendition that ranges from seductive lyricism to rhythmic exhilaration.

Buddhadev Das Gupta, one of India´s greatest sarod artists, plays in a style emphasizing the sarode´s rhythmic and percussive aspects. Das Gupta is noted for his understanding of ragas; the intelligence with which he creates endless variations; and the sophistication and virtuosity of his music. Buddhadev Das Gupta performs raga Chhaya, emphasizing the distinctive aspects of his style, while developing the contemplative and playful moods of the raga.

Dhruba Ghosh presents a rendition of raga Kaushi Kanada, a mix of ragas Malkauns and Darbari Kanada, whose grandeur and majesty are now tinged with pathos and urgency. Dhruba´s lyrical style and the sarangi's natural affinity for dramatic and heart-rending music make this an intense and captivating performance. Dhruba concludes with a light kajri.

Ustad Vilayat Khan performs his own creation, delightful and romantic, raga Sanjh Saravali, literally an "evening melody". Ustad Vilayat Khan presents this in a slow, lyrical development typical of a khyal vocal rendering, and brings to bear all his creativity and technical prowess to make this performance an enchanting vision of love and beauty.